Business in brief

Citizen Staff Reports

09/27/12

Alan Wurtzel, former CEO of Circuit City Stores, will speak about his experiences leading a consumer electronics and appliances organization on Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. at University of Richmond’s Queally Hall, Ukrop Auditorium. Wurtzel joined Circuit City in 1966 as vice president of legal affairs and served as CEO from 1972-86. More recently, he has been a trustee of Virginia Commonwealth University and member of the Virginia Board of Education and State Council for Higher Education. He also served on the boards of Dollar Tree Stores and Office Depot. Wurtzel is the first speaker in the 2012-13 Robins Executive Speaker Series. The program is free and open to the public, but registration is required at http://tinyurl.com/d93jr5p .

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United Methodist Family Services has won the inaugural Carol S. Fox “Making Kids Count” award from Voices for Virginia’s Children. The award is named after Carol Fox, a Voices founder, long-time board member and tireless advocate for children. The award is given in recognition of exemplary efforts to better the lives of Virginia’s children. Winners will be honored at an evening reception on Oct. 23 at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

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Lindsey Floyd, of Richmond, has joined Rappaport Retail Brokerage as a leasing and brokerage representative specializing in the Richmond retail real estate market. Formerly with Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, Floyd’s tenant representation clients currently include Jimmy John’s, Verizon, Smoothie King and The Little Gym. She also handles landlord representation, pre-development leasing and land sales.

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Sonic Drive-In has launched Limeades for Learning, a five-week program that puts Sonic donation dollars in the hands of voters to support public schools. Sonic has partnered with DonorsChoose.org and the program allows the public to vote online at http://www.limeadesforlearning.com for their favorite public school classroom projects and direct more than a half million dollars in Sonic donations. Anyone with a valid email address can vote online once per day. In addition, customers can visit their local Sonic and receive two extra votes via special bag stickers with any purchase.

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Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer has announced the sale of 1600 Willow Lawn Dr. in Henrico. FM1 LLC purchased the approximately 5,000 square foot office property from Feed More, Inc. for $550,000 as an investment. John G. Myers, Jr. of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the seller.

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Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer has announced the sale of an office condominium located within Springfield Professional Center at 4424 Springfield Rd. in Henrico. Seltzer Realty LLC purchased the approximately 1,900 square foot condo from Stuart Kirkland for $237,000 and will operate their business, Groundforce IT, at this location. Mac Wilson of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the seller.

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Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer has announced the sale of the former Friendly’s restaurant property located at 10601 Patterson Ave. in Henrico. SDC I Patterson LLC, an affiliate of Morgan Property Group based in Charlotte, NC, purchased the approximately 3,573 square foot building from O ICE LLC for $1,125,000 as an investment. Bruce Bigger of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the seller.

The Henricopolis Soil & Water Conservation District will sponsor a tree seedling giveaway on April 2 at Dorey Park Shelter 1 from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and on April 3 at Hermitage High School parking lot from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Bare-root tree seedlings are available to Henrico County residents free of charge for the spring planting season.

The following seedling species will be available: apple, kousa dogwood, red maple, river birch, red osier dogwood, loblolly pine, sycamore, bald cypress, white dogwood and redbud. Quantities are limited and trees are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Each participant is allowed up to 10 trees total, not to include more than five of the same species. > Read more.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) recently launched an online directory of permitted bingo games played in Virginia. Listed by locality, more than 400 regular games are available across the state. The directory will be updated monthly and can be found on VDACS’ website at http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/gaming/index.shtml.

“Many Virginia charities, including volunteer rescue squads, booster clubs and programs to feed the homeless, use proceeds from charitable gaming as a tool to support their missions, said Michael Menefee, program manager for VDACS’ Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs. > Read more.

Richmonders Jim Morgan and Dan Stackhouse were married at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Lakeside Mar. 7 month after winning the Say I Do! With OutRVA wedding contest in February. The contest was open to LGBT couples in recognition of Virginia’s marriage equality law, which took effect last fall. The wedding included a package valued at $25,000.

Morgan and Stackhouse, who became engaged last fall on the day marriage equality became the law in Virginia, have been together for 16 years. They were selected from among 40 couples who registered for the contest. The winners were announced at the Say I Do! Dessert Soiree at the Renaissance in Richmond in February. > Read more.

Two events this weekend benefit man’s best friend – a rabies clinic, sponsored by the Glendale Ruritan Club, and an American Red Cross Canine First Aid & CPR workshop at Alpha Dog Club. The fifth annual Shelby Rocks “Cancer is a Drag” Womanless Pageant will benefit the American Cancer Society and a spaghetti luncheon on Sunday will benefit the Eastern Henrico Ruritan Club. Twin Hickory Library will also host a used book sale this weekend with proceeds benefiting The Friends of the Twin Hickory Library. For all our top picks this weekend, click here! > Read more.

In a spot that could be easily overlooked is a surprising, and delicious, Japanese restaurant. In a tiny nook in the shops at the corner of Ridgefield Parkway and Pump Road sits a welcoming, warm and comfortable Asian restaurant called Ichiban, which means “the best.”

The restaurant, tucked between a couple others in the Gleneagles Shopping Center, was so quiet and dark that it was difficult to tell if it was open at 6:30 p.m. on a Monday. When I opened the door, I smiled when I looked inside. > Read more.

Cinderella is the latest from Disney’s new moviemaking battle plan: producing live-action adaptations of all their older classics. Which is a plan that’s had questionable results in the past.

Alice in Wonderland bloated with more Tim Burton goth-pop than the inside of a Hot Topic. Maleficent was a step in the right direction, but the movie couldn’t decide if Maleficent should be a hero or a villain (even if she should obviously be a villain) and muddled itself into mediocrity.

Cinderella is much better. Primarily, because it’s just Cinderella. No radical rebooting. No Tim Burton dreck. It’s the 1950 Disney masterpiece, transposed into live action and left almost entirely untouched. > Read more.